One dead after wastewater tank explosion plant in Dexter

DEXTER -- One man died and another was critically injured after an explosion at their Dexter work site.

Two men were transported to the hospital in critical condition after there was an explosion Monday afternoon while they were working on tanks at the wastewater treatment plant.

Joyce Williams, Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman, said at 4:20 p.m. that one of the men died at the University of Michigan hospital from the injuries he suffered.

The other man has been brought to stable condition, she said.

Advertisement

Dexter Fire Chief Loren Yates said a call came in for the explosion at about 1:39 p.m. at Dexter Utilities Department, 8360 Huron St.

The men were doing some construction at the site and were disassembling a tank where the explosion occurred, he said. Somehow some methane gas ignited as they were cutting steel, he said.

Williams said the men were left two stories up and required rescue when the call came in. They were blown onto the roof of an adjacent building from the explosion, she said.

Both the Washtenaw County Technical Rescue Team and Survival Flight were called to respond, she said, with a road cleared so Survival Flight could land.

However, firefighters and paramedics already at the scene were able to get the men down, she said. She said at that point it was faster to transport them by ambulance to the University of Michigan Health System, and the technical rescue team and Survival Flight were called off.

Williams said the men arrived at the hospital by 2:33 p.m.

The fire chief described the explosion as a flare up. He said it didn't set fire to the building and firefighters were able to focus on rescuing the two men and helping to treat them.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation into what happened and investigators were still at the site as of about 3:20 p.m., Yates said.

Dexter Assistant Village Manager Courtney Nicholls said the injured men are contractors, not village employees. A change order request was underway.